


it's just an ocean (separating me from you)

by reddies_spaghetti



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Break Up, Emotional Sex, Fluff and Angst, Long-Distance Relationship, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Smut, This hurt me to write, but I hope ya'll enjoy it!, high school sweethearts
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 08:27:32
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14637978
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reddies_spaghetti/pseuds/reddies_spaghetti
Summary: Richie is in London, Eddie is not.Long Distance AU





	it's just an ocean (separating me from you)

Eddie had always been a firm believer of love. Maybe it was because when he was younger his father would tell him stories of true love, or maybe it was when he was fifteen he fell in love with his best friend and they had been together ever since.

Richie Tozier, his best friend and love of his life. Best friends since they were little, sharing every secret, every milestone with each other. So it came as no surprise to anyone when they started dating the summer before their sophomore year of High School. They were sweethearts, defying the odds that each and every person placed upon them.

Until now that is.

Eight years they have been together. Eight amazing years and now, as they were entering their third year of university, the universe was about to put their relationship to the ultimate test.

The ultimate test being, long distance.

A few weeks into their third year at NYU, Richie had been pulled aside and offered the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to study abroad in London for a year, earning him extra credits and a chance to graduate a year early that everyone else. At the start, Eddie remembered how hesitant Richie had been, how nervous about leaving his friends, his job, _Eddie_ , behind. Eddie had spent hours that evening, convincing Richie on what a good idea it would be, and how much he would enjoy it.

After all, how much damage could a year make?

Now, six months later, Eddie was rethinking that statement.

At first, they spoke on the phone every night, and skyped at least three times a week. However as the weeks turned into months, the calls because less frequent and the skype calls become once every two weeks. Eddie understood, Richie was busy, he was in a new country and was making new friends. He knew that he shouldn’t be so selfish and demand his boyfriends complete and utter attention, but after eight years of having nothing _but_ that, being ghosted out was taking a rougher toll on him than he imagined.

He would watch from the bed he used to share with Richie, all the snapchat videos and facebook pictures his boyfriend would post. He would read the tweets he would post, and listen to the podcasts he would create. Eddie knew Richie was out there living the dream, his media degree soaring through the roof with this opportunity. He knew that Richie’s charisma would gain him many friend and he _especially_ knew just how well Richie would flourish over in England.

The only major flaw was how much Eddie _missed_ him.

More often than not, Eddie would find himself passing up nights out with his friends to curl up in Richie’s hoodie that no longer smelled of him, and scroll through the endless stream of pictures they had taken over the years. He would put on their favourite movies and eat popcorn, and he would always sleep on Richie’s side of the bed.

The two person flat was far to big for just one person.

It was two weeks before Christmas when he finally got to speak to Richie on skype again, for the first time in a month. As his boyfriend’s face exploded on his screen, Eddie exhaled a deep breath, “Hey, Rich.”

“Hey gorgeous, I’m so sorry I haven’t been able to skype these past few weeks, things have just been so _crazy-”_ Richie started but Eddie shook his head.

“Don’t apologise Rich, you’re out there having a whole new experience. You should be enjoying yourself, not worrying about little old me.” Eddie tried to keep his voice firm, but a small croak slipped through the cracks. Luckily, Richie never picked up on it, and if he did he never said anything.

“”How’s New York?” Richie asked, changing the subject and Eddie used that opportunity to tell his boyfriend everything he had missed over the past month. He told him all about Thanksgiving, and about how they went to see the Rockefeller Christmas Tree be lit just like they did every year.

“But you know, same old stuff we do every year,” Eddie finished with a soft smile. “You’ll be home soon though right, next week?”

“That’s right. I fly in on the 19th for two whole weeks. God Eds, I can’t wait to see you. I have so much to tell you about, so much. London is amazing baby!” The way Richie spoke when he described London made Eddie’s heart ache. It was as though Richie belonged there, with all those people, and not in New York with him.

“Richie I-”

“Shit, I’m so sorry baby, I have to go. I forgot I was meeting some friends for drink in like, ten minutes!” Eddie frowned and looked at his watch.

“At four in the afternoon?” He asked and Richie chuckled softly.

“No silly, it’s nine in the evening here. Time zones remember?” A look of recognition passed over Eddie’s face and he nodded. “I love you okay? I’ll see you next week.”

“I love you too.”

Then the skype call ended.

* * *

 

Eddie thought that Richie coming home for the holidays would mean they could curl up on the sofa and watch old movies, drink eggnog and decorate the tree. Out of those three things, the only thing they actually managed to do before Christmas Eve was decorate the tree, and that was with the help of all of their friends. Eddie had yet to spend some time alone with his boyfriend.

He understood. He did. Richie hadn’t seen his friends in six months, so he wanted to catch up with them, but he forgot that Eddie hadn’t seen Richie in six months, and he oh so desperately wanted to spend some alone time with him, even if they were just relaxing on the sofa.

Christmas day came and went, followed closely by New Years and soon, Richie only had one more day left in New York before he was due to fly back to London to start the next six months of his year. Eddie’s heart was in his mouth, Richie had been here for two weeks and they hadn’t spent a moment of that time alone, just the two of them.

“Richie?” Eddie asked as he pulled his boyfriend away from Stan and Bill’s conversation and into a corner of the club where they were spending the night. “Can we talk for a minute?”  
  
Richie frowned, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand, “Yeah, of course baby, is everything okay?”

“I want to go home, with you, alone.” He spoke, making his intentions very clear that he wanted to spend some time with Richie without their friends. “Please, Rich. You go home tomorrow and we haven’t spent any time together.”

“Sure we have!” Richie argued but Eddie shook his head.

“No Richie, we haven’t. We’ve hung out with Bev and Ben, Stan and Mike, Bill and Audra but we haven’t spent any time together, just us.” Eddie knew he was begging now, his heart in his throat as he spoke.

Richie sighed and nodded, “Okay, yeah. Let’s go. I- I have something I need to talk to you about.”

They said their goodbyes and got into the cab to take them home. The ride was silent, Eddie’s mind playing over all the possible things that Richie might have to tell him.

Yet, nothing could have prepared him for what the news actually was.

“You- what?” Eddie whispered, sitting down on the sofa.

“They offered me a place at the university to finish the rest of my degree. It’s a scholarship and it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.” Richie was holding onto Eddie’s hands for dear life. Eddie couldn’t speak, he had no words to say. His throat had closed up and tears were forming in the back of his eyes. The past six months had been hell for him, but the one thing he had been holding on to, the one thing keeping him sane was that it was only for a year.

Now Richie was planning on staying in London for another _two_?

“Eds?”

“Then you’d be stupid not to take it, Rich,” Eddie whispered, bringing a hand up to wipe away a stray tear that rolled down his cheeks. “You have to take it.”

“Hey, hey no don’t cry. It’s going to be fine. We have calls and skype and-” Richie was cut off by Eddie’s finger on his lips.

“No Richie. Look how well that’s been working for us so far, the truth is it hasn’t been. Between time zones, your classes, my classes, my job, your new friends...we don’t have time to call and skype each other. Then we forget and then weeks pass and we haven’t seen or spoken to each other. It kills me Richie. It kills me to not speak to you, for you to be so far away from me. I miss you. I miss you like crazy.” Tears were flowing freely down his cheeks now, so fast Eddie didn’t bother wiping them away. “I love you Richie, but, I can’t do long distance with you. I can’t.”

“Then I won’t go,” Richie said firmly. “I’ll tell them no.”

“Richie don’t be silly. You said so yourself, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. I can see it in your eyes how much you want this, how much you _need_ ****this. I don’t want you to resent me for stopping you another eight years down the line. I don’t think I will ever be able to forgive myself.” Slowly, he reached up and brushed his thumb over Richie’s cheek, catching a tear. “I love you.”

“I love you too Eds. I don’t- I don’t want to lose you.” Richie choked, pressing their foreheads together.

“You won’t ever lose me. No matter what, you’ll always be my best friend and I will never turn down a call from you. Ever. You want to call me with some exciting news? Call me. I’ll always be here.” Eddie whispered, moving his head forward to press their lips together in a deep kiss.

“Eds…”

“Let’s just have this...this one last night together okay? I don’t want our last night to be sad, I want to remember it,” Eddie breathed, pleading and Richie nodded his head, taking Eddie’s face in his hands and bringing their lips back together.

Slowly, they walked their way back to the bedroom, Richie slowly undressing Eddie as they went. Once they were both naked, Richie picked Eddie up, placing him on his back on the bed and reaching into the drawer for the lube and condoms. Eddie reached out a hand and shook his head, “No condom,” he whispered.

“Are you sure, baby?” Richie croaked, eyes red rimmed with tears and Eddie nodded his head.

“I’m sure. I want to feel you. Please?” Richie dropped the condom back into the drawer and returned to the bed.

As Richie slowly worked him open, Eddie cast his mind back and tried to think of a time where their sex was ever this emotional. He couldn’t think of any. Yes, they had made love on multiple occasions, but this, this was different.

This was a goodbye.

A gasp fell from his lips and he arched his back up. Richie pulled his fingers out, moving his hand to each side of Eddie’s head, “Ready?”

“Yeah, please?”

They made love slowly, passionately and deeply. It was like nothing Eddie had ever felt before, and it was like nothing he would ever feel again. As they both reached their climax, Richie leaned down to pull them into a heart wrenching last kiss, their tears mixing in with their saliva. Eddie clung onto Richie for dear life, knowing that when they parted, that would be it, it would be the last time he had him like this.

That thought alone was enough to bring more tears into his eyes.

Richie cleaned them up slowly, as though he were savouring every last moment with Eddie. Then, he climbed into bed, wrapped his arms tight around Eddie, pulling him flush against his chest. Kisses were peppered along his neck, sending him into a sleep in the arms of the man he loved.

When he woke up the next morning. Richie was gone.

* * *

 

The days  following New Year turned in weeks and soon a month had passed since Richie had left and flown back to London, intending on staying for another two and a half years. Other than a single text message saying that he had safely landed in London, he hadn’t heard from Richie.

Maybe it was a good thing that he wasn’t hearing from him. Maybe it was Richie’s way of helping him move on.

Eddie wasn’t ready to move on. The past month, he helped organise all of Richie’s things for Stan so he could put them in storage. Eddie had decided that after this year was done, he would find a smaller place, a place with fewer memories, to finish off his schooling in.

After that? Eddie had no idea what he was going to do.

He stopped hanging out with his friends about a week after Richie left, the sad filled gazes becoming too much for him to handle. He made the right decision, he knew that. He let Richie go and live the life he craved, he did the right thing.

He just wished it didn’t hurt so much.

One crisp Saturday morning in February, Eddie rolled out of bed and made quick work of showering and heading out to run some errands. He refused to stay in the apartment when he didn’t need to be, so usually he would find himself at the library, or taking a brisk walk around Central Park.

Today though, it was far too cold for a walk, and he was in no mood to study. Instead he checked off his shopping list for the week, and went to see a movie. It was some sci-fi movie that held zero interest, but it did kill some time before he had to trudge back to his apartment. When the movie was over, Eddie turned his phone back on to see he had received a few messages from his friends, concerned about his whereabouts.

With a sigh, Eddie typed out a response to the group chat, instead of replying to everyone individually.

_**Sorry guys, I was at the movies. Panic over! - Eddie** _

Within a few minutes, Bev had replied, followed by Stan, Mike and Bill.

_Oh thank god, we were worried! - Bev_

_Tell us next time, will you? - Stan._

_What movie? - Bill_

He rolled his eyes at the messages and stuffed his phone back into his pocket, walking the short distance to the apartment. The lobbyman offered him a kind smile and a wave as he stepped into the elevator and Eddie closed his eyes. Maybe he’ll put on an episode of Brooklyn 99 and eat some of the left over ice cream that is in the bottom of his freezer. Regardless of the weather, it was never too cold for ice cream.

Richie’s words, not his.

At the thought of Richie, Eddie’s heart clenched as he reached out for the door handle. His throat clenched up and he swallowed thickly, pushing the thought away. Richie was gone and they were over. He had to stop thinking about him if he was ever going to move on.

As he opened the door, Eddie frowned as his eyes settled on the light streaming in from the living room. Had he forgotten to turn off a light? Shit, that meant there would be an increase in his utility bill this month. Sighing, he toed off his shoes and hung up his jacket, heading into the living room with the intent of turning the light out and retreating to bed.

The sight that greeted him was not one he ever expected to see.

There, in the middle of the living room floor, surrounded by candles and on one knee, was Richie Tozier.

“Richie…” Eddie breathed out, tears springing into his eyes and he brought a hand up to cover his mouth. Was he dreaming?

“Hey baby,” Richie breathed. “Come here?” His voice was so soft and Eddie found his feet moving until he was right in front of Richie, looking down at him. “Don’t say anything okay? Let me speak and then I promise you can say whatever you want.”

Eddie nodded his head, swallowing before he dropped to his knees in front of Richie.

“I went to London with every intention of staying for the two years they wanted me to. It was a huge deal, a once in a lifetime opportunity. So I went and gave it a shot, but you want to know something? Everything sucked. The whole reason I was enjoying it so much out there was because I knew that come June, I’d be back here, with you, where I belonged. Then, when I was over there, knowing that I no longer had you? God Eds, it was awful, it made the whole experience rubbish because all I wanted to do was talk to you about it, to call you, to see you, but I wanted to give you your space so I refrained.”

“I love you Eddie Kaspbrak. You are the best damn thing that has ever happened to me and it took me way too long to realise that I didn’t want a stupid international relationship over the best thing in my life. Which is you. It will always be you. So I came home, to you. And if you’ll have me, I want to stay. With you, forever.” Eddie watched with tears in his eyes and Richie reached into his back pocket and pulled out a box, popping it open to reveal a gorgeous silver band.

“I saw it in a jewellery store in London back in September. Yes, back in September, although the idea has been on my mind since at least March of last year.” Richie flashed him a wide smile, reaching out to take his hand, squeezing it tightly. “So, Eddie Kaspbrak. The love of my life, marry me?”

Eddie didn’t even leave the long awaited pause that usually happened after a proposal. Instead the moment the question passed Richie’s lips, Eddie threw himself at him, sending them both to the ground, before he pressed his lips to his in a deep kiss. “Yes, yes, yes. Oh god yes. I love you. I love you so much.”

Richie chuckled softly against his lips, using the hand that wasn’t securely around Eddie’s waist to pluck the ring from the box and slide it onto his finger. “I’m never going to leave you ever again. I promise,” Richie breathing against his lips.

“Just kiss me,” Eddie mumbled, moving his fingers into Richie’s curls, pulling him close. “Don’t stop kissing me.”

As Richie picked Eddie up and carried him to the bedroom, Eddie’s phone buzzed from its place in his coat pocket, the congratulations from his friends filling up his inbox. Eddie would see them in the morning, but right now, he had some serious making up to do.

**Author's Note:**

> Likes and comments give me life! <3
> 
> Tumblr: reddies-spaghetti


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